'Voicemail' rings true to ABC.com

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NEW YORK -- ABC.com launched its first shortform original series Monday titled "Voicemail," a series of videos chronicling a decade of a twentysomethings' phone messages.

"Voicemail," inspired by the saved voicemail messages of co-creator Michael Wilde, is based on a 2005 film of the same name that he wrote and directed. During the 30 ABC.com-produced video shorts, which run from one to four minutes, a voicemail message plays in the background while actor Ezra Godden, playing Mike, acts along to it.

In the short titled "Airport," Mike is sleeping in his bed as messages from his increasingly irritated father, who is waiting for him at the airport with his sick grandmother, play in the background. The final frame sees a frantic Mike rushing down the stairs wearing only a bathrobe and underwear. Other episodes focus on breakups, re-gifting and side effects from prescription medications.

"The creative approach for 'Voicemail' aligns perfectly with the digital media audience," said Bruce Gersh, senior vp business development at ABC Entertainment. "It is snack-size, funny, relatable and has a distinctive point of view."

Currently, three episodes are up on the Walt Disney Co.-owned portal, and several new episodes will debut each week through mid-June; the series also will be available on wireless platforms.

Angela Mancuso is also a co-creator and executive producer for "Voicemail."